The Faster Payments Service
The Faster Payments Service is a new electronic payment method, which will speed up the way you make and receive electronic payments.
In most cases the money will be available within two hours, rather than the three working days it takes currently.
Update on the availability of the Faster Payments Service
A third of all our sort codes are now able to receive faster payments. The remaining sort codes will be activated over the coming months. Find out if your sort code can receive faster payments.
We will also commence a pilot scheme by the end of the year, where a small number of sort codes will be able to send faster payments as well. Please continue to visit the website for further updates on the availability of faster payments.
Key features of the Faster Payments Service
These are some of the most important features of the new Faster Payments Service.
- Except for payments made by standing order or future dated payments, the Faster Payments Service will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- The service will aim to speed up the time it takes to make and receive electronic payments.
- Payments will be transferred between participating financial institutions and, in most cases, funds will be available in the beneficiary’s account within two hours.
Limitations of the Faster Payments Service
Although in most cases the new Faster Payments Service will speed up and improve electronic payments, there are a few important points you should be aware of.
- Payments are made almost immediately, so they cannot be stopped and the sending Bank is unable to retrieve the funds. It is essential that you provide us with the correct sort code and account number for the bank to which you would like payment to be made. It may also be useful to quote any reference number given.
- The Faster Payments Service will only operate in Sterling and is only available for UK payments.
We can't guarantee that all payments will go faster, so if your payment is time critical we would advise you to continue to use CHAPS
What can I use the Faster Payments Service for?
You can use the Faster Payments Service to make either immediate or future dated transfers and bill payments, as well as standing orders. Standing order and future dated payments will only be processed Monday to Friday. In most cases, the funds will be available within two hours.
Direct Debits are not part of the Faster Payments Service.
The Faster Payments Service is only available on payments to accounts where the beneficiary bank is also a member of the Faster Payments Scheme.
What do I need to do now?
This will depend on how electronic payments are made.
- Payment requests made at the Corporate Banking Centre, in branch or over the phone or by written instruction
You don’t need to do anything different. All eligible payments will automatically go via the Faster Payments Service once it becomes available for your account. - Payment requests made via The Co-operative Bank’s Financial Director or Business Internet Banking Service
Payments currently set up on Financial Director and the Business Internet Banking Service will not automatically be redirected onto Faster Payments as customers will have a choice to send payments via the Faster Payment Service or 3 day BACS. We will be contacting our Financial Director and Business Internet Banking Service customers with further details shortly.
Charges
At launch, the charge for sending payments via the improved Faster Payments Service will be the same as for BACS.
Further information
Please continue to visit the website for regular updates.
